Qin dynasty

The Qin dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China which existed from 221 BC to 206 BC, with Xianyang serving as its capital. It was founded by Qin Shi Huangdi, the former King of Qin, who had conquered Chu in 223 BC and united China at the end of the Warring States Period. The Qin had a large military supported by a stable economy, and Qin Shi Huangdi ended feudalism in China and replaced fiefdoms with prefectures and commanderies. The Qin also built the Great Wall of China to defend against the Xiongnu tribes to the north, building a work force of 300,000 by conscripting peasants and convicts for massive public works projects. While the Qin introduced standardized currency, weights, measures, and a uniform system of writing, the Qin government became a tyrannical government which persecuted Confucian scholars, burned ancient texts, and had its citizens register their horses, weapons, and farming tools. When Qin Shi Huangdi died in 210 BC, his eunuch Zhao Gao forced his heir Fusu to commit suicide and installed the feeble Qin Er Shi as emperor, using him as his puppet. Zhao Gao's influence negatively impacted the Qin, which soon had to deal with several rebellions against their rule after 209 BC. Zhao Gao had Qin Er Shi executed to prevent him from punishing him for the various peasant uprisings, only for the new emperor Ziying to have Zhao Gao executed to put an end to his intrigues. Soon, the Chu general Xiang Yu and the administrator Liu Bang rebelled against the Qin government, and Liu Bang entered the capital and deposed Ziying in 206 BC. He and Xiang Yu then divided the empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms, which would be reunited under Liu Bang's Han during the Chu-Han Contention.